TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Real-time video conferencing

PROS

Free one-to-one meetings with no time limitation.

Meetings can be recorded and shared.

Meetings are available via dedicated applications or via standard browser.

Features can be expanded on paid plans.

Audio Zoom attendance via phone is a possibility in selected countries.

CONS

Group meetings are free for up to 100 participants for 40 minutes.

Although there is an academic pricing plan, Zoom can still be expensive for large groups.

On fullscreen mode, users may not see the toolbox of Zoom.

The breakout groups feature enables users to separate into smaller groups where they can share ideas in a smaller and/or private forum.

Use bandwidth wisely when you have multiple participants. Opening up multiple cameras can restrict your bandwidth and decrease the quality of live streaming.

Cloud saving of meetings’ recordings is available on paid plans.

PROS

Free option with up to 100 participants per meeting with unlimited meeting time.

Meetings can be recorded and shared on paid plans.

Can be made HIPAA compli-ant if using the business plan.

There is an option to call into Webex via phone or with your smartphone or laptop application or with a browser.

CONS

It can be pricey if not utiliz-ing a group business plan through your institution.

Limited to 1 GB of cloud storage if using the free option.

Use is not as intuitive nor as popular as Zoom.

Integrate with Microsoft Exchange so meeting invitations include Webex information.

Important to note that for presentations with live audience members and remote participants, live audience members should have micro-phones for remote participants to hear them adequately.

If you do not have a veri-fied account, you need to verify it before you start going live. Activation may take 24 hours.

TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Live from the recording studio

PROS CONS

Video can be streamed on YouTube to hundreds of people without any cost.

The presenter cannot see or hear the audience.

Cannot share your screen unless you use third-party software.

Need to have at least 1,000 subscribers to stream on the mobile app.

Interaction with the audi-ence can be only made using the live chat function.

Use the Mobile app ofYouTube for mobility.

Many people are already using podcasts to learn. Adding one more might not be a hard thing if it is worthwhile.

Producing and creatinga high-quality soundrecording can be tough.

Might be hard to “just start-up” without an experienced coach’s assistance.

Requires funds to hostcontent on a podcast server.

Making podcasts availableon multiple platforms can be hard.

Learners tend to do other things while listeningto podcasts.

Push out content witha single upload.

Easily reach learners via devices they already use.

For those who are camera shy, it only requires your voice!

Have the team all login and get comfortable about 15-20 min before you“go live”.

Best to have some show notes to know where you are headed.

Finally, make sure to smile! You’re on camera!

PROS CONS

Podcasting

Start with basic research to see if your podcast idea has already beenaddressed heavily by others.

Not all podcasts are equal. Think about what you want to do, and stick tothat brand.

Use a popular podcast server like Libsyn or Soundcloud, as they have rela-tionships with podcast apps and will push your content across all of them.

TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Small group conversations

PROS CONS

No account necessary to generate a meeting code to participate in a call.

Without an account, there’s no option to schedule a meeting or save a video.

Not all web browsers are supported.

Saved videos do not include the chat bar used during the session.

The chat function is grouped by participants rather than by designating projects or topics.

Ability to display a presen-tation or supplementmaterials.

Ability to record the ses-sion and download for up to 30 days after the event.

Voice-to-text transcription option available.

No option to buy the app in isolation.

Requires membership cost to Google G Suite.Now free.

Can join pre-scheduled meet-ings using calendar invites, via a link or phone access.

Easy to use on both mobile or desktop devices.

You can do a live stream for up to 10,000 people within a domain.

Offers polls, recording meet-ings, and live streaming on the highest level plans.

Log in early to get comfortable with the interface.

Work on using interactive slides, questions, discussions, and audienceparticipation to keep the learners engaged.

Use the parallel chat function during your lecture for people to ask questions.

PROS CONS

Set ground rules about interruptions and pausing for others to finish their thought to minimize overspeaking.

Avoid meeting in loud places, private offices/rooms with reliable wifi or cellular service are ideal.

Place a light source in front of you to avoid a backlit screen.

Test your audio and video before and use headphones.

Most institutional academic hospitals have Microsoft licenses that come withMicrosoft teams

TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Enhancing discussion with digital asynchronous chats

PROS CONS

The interface is user-friendly.

Syncs mobile contact lists.

Simple for new users.

Reduces email traffic.

No “logout” option.

Comments are not private.

No ads or commercials.

Acts as a digital hub and home base for remote teams.

Messages are archived and easy to search.

Real-time and asynchronous communication.

Ability to set up private groups for specific tasks/projects.

Notifications can beoverwhelming.

It can be difficult todisconnect.

A maximum of 256 users can be added to a group.

Can be used on multiple operating systems.

Group calls make it easy to reach multiple people.

One of the most popular mes-saging apps internationally.

Often comes with large scale professional training

Can be easily integrated into already existent online courses.

It doesn’t integrate well with Google products.

Doesn’t yet integrate with audio function.

There is a long list ofapplications that can be added as integrations

Cannot send large files (doc-uments max out at 100MB and videos - at 16MB)

Depending on the volume of messages, earlier topics can be buried.

Multiple, simultaneousconversations can be difficult to track.

It has numerous beeps, buzzes, alerts that can some-times be more of a distraction

The free version only stores up to 10,000 messages after which it will start deleting.

The lack of search function requires users to know each other’s cell phone numbers.

Must have specific security features installed.

One has to select time in the presentation or a slide upon which to insert the comment.

User can set up notifications for new messages and mute channels for a period.

Ability to broadcast the same message to multiple individual chats at once.

It comes with a Wiki function as well as video chat and task management capabilities.

Users can enter comments at any time point in thepresentation.

Comments can be added in audio format, video or through text.

Has a large application library for integrations, generallyfocused on institutional needs.

If you are starting a group, reach out to individuals first to see if they would like to join and collect/confirm cell phone numbers.

Do not be afraid to politely leave a group if your participation is no longer necessary.

Export your group communications and store them in an email for later access.

PROS CONS

Set rules for the team to understand, agree and all adopt. Discuss expecta-tions for message response time.

Set up “office hours” so that you can disconnect and keep a work-life balance.

Create channels for targeted collaboration. Include all files, discussions, images etc. pertaining to that project within that specific channel.

Use @mentions to bring a specific person or people’s attention.

Use the Slackbot to schedule reminders.

Unsubscribe from channels that are no longer relevant or active.

Consider “office hours,” and set ground rules for the team to understand, agree and all adopt.

Use channels for targeted collaboration. Include all files, discussions, images etc.

Export your group communications and store them in an email for later access.

PROS CONS

Personal use subscriptions range from $99.99 to $149.99 and vary on the number of users allowed.

Not a tool that is utilized in real-time.

Users may be uncomfort-able using their voice.

PROS CONS

Multiple modalities of con-nection (text, audio, video).

Microsoft Teams VoiceThread

Use @mentions to bring a specific person or people’s attention.

Unsubscribe from channels that are no longer relevant or active.

Best utilized as a question and answer format for predefined presentations.

Consider adding Voice Threads to any asynchronous lectures, presentations of posters or slideshows.

Allow users to watch a demonstration video or have a practice presentation where users can trial each of the comment forms such as text comments, video recordings, and audio comments.

TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Assessing learners remotely

PROS CONS

Use as a real-time tool to assess how learners retain information.

Create core assessment questions and share with your peers within the same field.

Use the live-results dashboard for synchronous assessment to observe students’ answers and timings.

When writing questions, download the free Poll Everywhere app on your device.

Set aside time at the beginning of the session to allow participants to log into the poll.

Start with a simple practice poll question to allow users to become familiar with the technology and process.

Remember to activate your poll to get started capturing responses.

Limit the total number of questions utilized during your talk.

Mix question formats.

Interactive activities such as Poll Everywhere questions take time! Delivery method of a quiz can be set with various modes.

Use Quiz mode for online exams.

Design and organize forms collaboratively by giving access and permissions for other users to edit the form.

Embed your form if you need to integrate with your learning management system, website, or platform.

PROS CONS

Answers can be revealed or hidden.

Allows a maximum of 50 learners per room (free).

Rostering and multiple rooms are only available in Pro.

Tests can be shared.

Data are available andexportable afterward.

Allows to design your curricu-lum or assessments flexibly.

Easily track progress ofindividual students.

Real-time knowledge of how many learners are in the “room.”

Teacher can release questions one at a time or give the entire quiz.

PROS CONS

Participants can see others’ responses in real-time.

Gamification can be incorpo-rated.

Users can answer questions from different devices.

Interactive activities or ques-tions can be embeddeddirectly into the presentation.

Multiple formats can beutilized including multiple-choice questions, free text questions, clickable images, and word clouds.

Requires internet access to activate the poll and text.

Some features are accessible with a paid subscription.

Users may feel that the pro-cess of inputting questions into PE is cumbersome.

Maximum audience size of 40 participants for the free version.

Embedding questions into slides is a multi-step process that requires downloading different tools.

PROS CONS

Answers can be revealed or hidden.

Tests can be shared between faculty.

Data are available andexportable afterward.

Real-time knowledge of how many learners are in the “room.”

Allows for the teacher torelease questions one at a time or give the entire quiz.

Allows a maximum of 50 learners per room (free).

Rostering and multiple rooms are only available in Pro.

Masked questions can help you collect what you need.

The form-creation interface is easy to use.

Enabling “quiz mode” allows responses to be graded.

The “File Upload” question type allows for attachments from learners.

Whatever you collect is stored on Google. Be careful of private questions.

Participants cannot be tracked to determine whether or not they filled out the form.

Conditional questions change based on previous responses and require different sections to redirect.

Design features are limited.

Plan and test your quiz ahead of time. You can reset it as necessary.

Completely free.

TEACHING IN THE AGE OF COVID-19:

Learning management systems (LMS)

PROS CONS

Multiple classes can becreated to host variouscohorts of students.

Use Assignments function to collect students’ works, and make the process of grading simple.

Need to familiarize faculty with the platform if notalready using them.

Faculty will need time to review content and select the most relevant material.

Faculty unfamiliar with flipped classroom or effective small group teaching meth-ods may be uncomfortable with these platforms.

It can be difficult to communi-cate across purposes and to sustain a deep conversation

ALiEMU and Foundations of EM are free and easily available to all residents

Both are high quality through either post-publi-cation curation or peer-reviewed content.

Reuse the same post if you need to copy over different cohorts of students.

Use class code to enroll your students.

PROS CONS

Use a faculty champion to review and select modules.

Keep groups smaller.

Share additional resources after the sessions to further support long term retention.

Consider follow up quizzes to capitalize on the testing effect and spaced repetition.

For all LMS, learn what affordances, or tools, each offers to help determine which is the right fit for your needs.

Customizable options for level of learner.

Great way to archive multiple, long conversations.

The free version only stores up to 10,000 messages.

Alerts and can create more of a distraction.

The search function for courses is imperfect.

Very simple to set up. Dependent on Google services

Many courses are private.

Account management is hard.

Use Originality Reports to ensure that students’ work is genuine.

Gradebook is limited and you may need to keep better records elsewhere.

Going back through con-versations to find a specific topic can be challenging.

PROS CONS

Simple for new users.

There is a reward system.

There will be a period of trial-and-error both for the instructors and the learners.

Open-source LMS have many customizable features, so continue to explore.

Seek feedback from your learners.

Easily invite others to join the platform via email link.

Assessment tools and grad-ing functions are available.

There’s a possibility that learners in your course are exposed to misinformation in their networking.

The global posts function, similar to social media, does not allow for tagging others, or following trends or topics efficiently.

PROS CONS

Technical knowledge isrequired to effectively own your installation.

The free version on cloud is supported by up to 50 users and 200MB file storage space

Extend core features using plug-ins for your needs.

Restricted access is available to tailor content to different audiences or subgroups.

Customizable with multiple affordances: comments, messaging, statistics, etc.

PROS CONS

Designed for easy accessibili-ty via mobile platforms.

It can accommodate small groups to large audiences.

Course Networking

Users are able to network with other learners andinstructors.

The site is designed for easy use on computers and mobile platforms.

Course pairing exists to group similar course content for further collaboration.

Courses are searchable and instructors can set whether the course is public.